New York, New York Day #1 “WTF, Are Those Two Going to New York Again?”

Yes blog readers, Patrice and I are on our way to the Big Apple again, but it is not what you think. No, we are not going to New York for more fun and games (i.e., baseball) and let’s not forget eating but rather we are traveling east for our favorite charity, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.

As you might know, we are big supporters of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation because two of our three children suffer from Crohn’s disease. “Suffer” might be overstating it since both David and Erica are doing fantastic compared to many others who have had much greater problems from this disease. Both of them were diagnosed at 11 years old so they have certainly paid their dues. Patrice and I (along with their sister, Lindsay) have also paid our dues seeing the two of them suffer. Each year the Foundation funds research in hopes of finding a cure to both Crohn’s and Ulcerative Colitis (and other autoimmune diseases). In fact much of the research leading to the development of the medications that have given our kids relief was in part financed by Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation grants.

The Foundation receives numerous grant proposals each year.   Prior to funding, the Foundation has each application reviewed by two scientists and one “stakeholder”. A stakeholder is defined as someone who either has inflammatory bowel disease or has been a caregiver for someone with the ailment. Last month Patrice and I were asked to become stakeholders and we were very thrilled to accept the offer.

Every year Team Reiss raises a lot of money for the Foundation by participating in the Take Steps Walk. Many readers of this blog have been generous supporters of our efforts. Let me assure you that your contributions are not paying for us to have a trip to New York. We told the Foundation that we prefer to pay our own expenses. It didn’t make sense for us to donate a bunch of money to the Foundation each year to have them pay it back to us in any way.

Not sure what the next two days have in store for us but I am sure it will be of great interest to us. I hope I can find something that interests you as well. Anyone feeling an urge for some horse? Oops, that was our last trip.